Since this is my first post, I guess it serves as both an personal introduction, as well as a request for some feedback.

First some background, without getting too boring. My dad bought a 16 in 1981, the year I was born. I have fond memories of learning to sail, and spending a lot of time on the boat with my family and friends while growing up. As a teenager we transitioned to waterski and wakeboard boats, but usually found time to take the Hobie and windsurfers out a few times a summer.

Move on 10 years; after finishing school, starting my career, and my parents getting divorced, and it's been seven or eight years since the hobie has seen the water. Unfortunately during that time, the boat has been sitting out uncovered as shown:

My wife and I just had our first son, and I would love for him to have the same experiences growing up. I've looked at buying a Getaway, or a Nacra, but this 16 is sentimental, so my current plan is to spend some time getting it ready to sail again.

Some questions:

1. I've checked the hulls for softness by pushing on the tops and sides where the deck meets the shoe and everything feels solid. The boat was never stored in the water, and the plugs were always pulled, so I'm hoping the integrity of the hulls is sound. Is there anything else I should check to make sure I'm not getting into a potentially hazardous situation?

2. Fortunately all of the rigging was removed from the boat and stored indoors, so it's in reasonable shape. Of course I'll replace anything that shows signs of wear.

Any other issues or caveats I should be aware of before I put it in the water for the first time?

I'm hoping we can get wet and have some fun sailing, while slowly going through the boat and trailer to get it fully restored.

you should replace all the wires even if they dont look bad.I have the same boat a cat fever

Of course you're right, I just ordered a new set. Cheap insurance, especially because I'm not entirely sure when they were last replaced.

hobiesrock wrote:

Awesome! Keep it in the family indeed!Give her some love and get it out on the lake where it belongs!

Thanks Matt, looking forward to getting her back on the water and hooking up with the other locals for some sailing. Here's a pic of what was probably the last time the hulls were wet up on Cultus in the summer of 2002.

Thanks for the feedback, new plugs have been ordered, and I'm planning on pressurizing the hulls to test for leaks. I'll keep everyone posted.

As this is turning into a bit of a journal on my reconditioning experience, I figured I would update it with a list of all of the items I've purchased, along with their price.

Here's a list of everything I've purchased so far:

3x Drain Plugs - $6.841x Tramp Lace Kit - $25.60

I'll work on taking pictures to document everything as well.

One more question for right now, I spent some time making a more complete list of everything I needed for the boat over the weekend, and noticed that nuts that secure the four castings to the pylons are plastic and almost completely disintegrated. Is plastic still the recommended material, or should I switch them to stainless when I replace them? I can take a picture if my explanation doesn't make sense.

Thanks for the feedback, new plugs have been ordered, and I'm planning on pressurizing the hulls to test for leaks. I'll keep everyone posted.

Be very careful with that. A shop vac set to blow with the nozzle an inch or so away from the drain plug hole will provide plenty of pressure for leak testing. It takes very little pressure to burst the hull/deck seam.

skicrave wrote:

I noticed that nuts that secure the four castings to the pylons are plastic and almost completely disintegrated. Is plastic still the recommended material, or should I switch them to stainless when I replace them? I can take a picture if my explanation doesn't make sense.

The nuts are plastic to prevent casting compression. The corner castings are brittle, and if you crank down on the nuts, you'll break the casting. New boats come with stainless nylock nuts. If you go that route, be careful not to tighten them beyond just snug.

Be very careful with that. A shop vac set to blow with the nozzle an inch or so away from the drain plug hole will provide plenty of pressure for leak testing. It takes very little pressure to burst the hull/deck seam.

Thanks for the warning, I had seen reference to that test, and warnings to use low pressure, but I hadn't searched to see just what that meant. Good to know that a shop vac will create more than enough positive pressure. Maybe I'll hold off on this until I water test the boat and actually find a leak.

The good news is that I know the entire history of the boat, and my dad was very good about maintaining it, so I don't expect there to be any issues.

MBounds wrote:

The nuts are plastic to prevent casting compression. The corner castings are brittle, and if you crank down on the nuts, you'll break the casting. New boats come with stainless nylock nuts. If you go that route, be careful not to tighten them beyond just snug.

I think I'll switch to a nylock just be safe, but your warning about over tightening is duly noted. I'm planning on switching to pylon mounted tie downs, so I'd rather have a metal nut there than a plastic one.

Bend Oregon!!! Sweeet! I am just down the road in La Pine! We are getting a good bunch of Hobie Sailors around these parts! Let me know if you need any help! Dialing in my new to me 16 as well right now!

I'm probably a couple of weeks out before trailer and boat are ready to head to the water. I'm having the wheels powder coated right now, more on that in an upcoming post, and I'm waiting on a few various parts I ordered.

I'll let you know when it's time to sail and we can try to meet up somewhere on the CLH.

I'd highly recommend that you remove/reseal the gudgeons and drain plug housings. Be prepared that some of the gudgeon screws may be very difficult to remove due to corrosion with the aluminum plate inside. Use lanocote or anti-seize when you put them back in.

do not put pressure on your hulls ever a little water is normal and never a issue.If you get more than a gallon you need to check things outI will go with the new wires all around just did my 16 for $120 black coatedNew drain plugs for sure new sister screws and new rudder cams maybe new ss rudder pinsA big can of good silicone spray on anything that moves and for the sail trackTry to get a Hobie old timer just to go over the boat with a knowing hand and eyENEVER LET ANYONE WALK ON THE HULLS OR JUMP FROM THE TRAMP TO THE HULLSNEVER TIE DOWN VERY HARD TO THE TRAILERGET SOME BEACH WHEELS

I'd highly recommend that you remove/reseal the gudgeons and drain plug housings. Be prepared that some of the gudgeon screws may be very difficult to remove due to corrosion with the aluminum plate inside. Use lanocote or anti-seize when you put them back in.

Noted, is it worth it to switch to the newer style 1-piece gudgeons at the same time?

I'm planning on re-glassing a couple of areas, spraying new gel on repairs, and then wetsanding and polishing the hulls in the fall. So unless they leak badly, I'll probably hold off on replacing them when I pull all the hardware off to have access to everything.

gary eudy wrote:

do not put pressure on your hulls ever a little water is normal and never a issue.If you get more than a gallon you need to check things outI will go with the new wires all around just did my 16 for $120 black coatedNew drain plugs for sure new sister screws and new rudder cams maybe new ss rudder pinsA big can of good silicone spray on anything that moves and for the sail trackTry to get a Hobie old timer just to go over the boat with a knowing hand and eyENEVER LET ANYONE WALK ON THE HULLS OR JUMP FROM THE TRAMP TO THE HULLSNEVER TIE DOWN VERY HARD TO THE TRAILERGET SOME BEACH WHEELS

Yep, my dad always told me not to walk on the hulls, so that's been ingrained in my since I was small.

I should mention, my dad has been sailing Hobie's for 40 years, and even though my mom ended up with the boat in the divorce (I've since bought it from her), he's helping out by providing feedback and input.

Here's a little update on my restoration progress, right now I'm just working on getting her functional so we can go get wet, which should hopefully happen this weekend.

First order was to replace the flat-spotted deteriorating tires that haven't been rolled in eight years. Here's what I started with:

Of course if I'm going to pull the wheels off I might as well do the job right, so I took them to a local powder coater to have them media blasted and recoated. Here's the results mounted with a new set of 6-ply tires:

Total cost was $50 to refinish, and $70 for the tires, valve stems and mounting.

I ordered a complete new set of rigging, but also wanted to go through the stuff that came off the boat to see what condition it's in, and to clean everything up to use as a backup if the condition allows. Here's what I found in our sail bag: